An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s14.14

v1.c9.s14.14

Both at Ahar² and Gilund houses were built on foundations of undressed schist blocks. The walls were made of mud or mud bricks. At GILUND burnt bricks were also used in the later part of the culture. The size of mud bricks at GILUND was 32·5 × 12·5 × 10·0 cm in the earlier phase and changed to 27·5 × 15·0 × 9·0 cm in the middle phase. The bricks were laid in mud mortar in English bond. The walls were reinforced with bamboo screens and plastered on both sides with mud mixed with lime. They were sometimes decorated with finger-impressed zigzag designs. Post-holes and charred posts also suggest structures supported on wooden posts. At AHAR² the houses measured on an average 9·15 × 4·6 m but longer walls running to a length of 13·7 m and divided into rooms by mud and mud-brick walls indicate large residential units. At GILUND a partially excavated structural complex covered an area of 37 × 27 m comprising four parallel n.-s. walls ranging in thickness from 0·7 to 1·1 m and was filled with sand. The extant and available height of the walls, 1·8 m, suggest a formidable structural complex. The houses were provided with built-in storage bins and ovens, measuring 0·9 to 1·3 m in diameter and 0·6 m in depth and lined with 1·5 to 4·5 cm thick layer of white clay mixed with sand. Hearths of the type common in rural India today, with their walls decorated with impressed chevrons, were found at AHAR.²